Idaho Man Finds It Takes More Than A Smartphone App To Be A Police Officer

I can only imagine becoming a member of any law enforcement agency takes dedication to the job and hard work. But Alexander A. Welch in Idaho allegedly didn’t care about that. He just wanted to pretend be a police officer and pull cars over with the help of a smartphone app.

Police were alerted to the 21-year-old’s antics Saturday night by none other than the motorist who he attempted to pull over using an app that mimicks a patrol car’s flashing red and blue lights.

According to the real police in Boise, Welch’s car came up behind the other driver, and he used the app to get them to pull over. Once the car stopped, Welch stopped briefly and drove away, never exiting the vehicle. But that was enough for the other motorist to get the information police needed.

After the call, Welch was quickly stopped and after police found the phone and app, he was booked into the Ada County Jail on the charge of unlawful exercise of the function of peace officers.

Let’s hope his smartphone can pull up the name of a good lawyer -- the charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.